Removing a bag full of refuse from a waste receptacle for later disposal is a routine task for most persons. Such refuse removal can be an arduous, if not impossible task, however, for many individuals such as persons with bad backs, elderly, persons, disabled and/or wheelchair bound persons, and persons with physical limitations.
A number of waste receptacles have been developed for providing ease of removal of the refuse bag from the receptacle. For example, several known receptacles provide a hinged door that swings open in one or another direction, including those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,744 to Koyama, U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,581 to Follet et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,978 to Monroe. None of these receptacles, however, provides a swinging door that can be provided of a lightweight material and still retain a smooth and stable swinging motion downward or a mechanism adapted for ease of opening and closing such a door by a person with limited physical abilities.
More specifically, the Koyama device has a ramp that automatically ejects the bag from the receptacle upon opening of the horizontally swinging two front doors, which can be dangerous for persons with limited agility who may not be able to move out of the way. The Follet et al. device, which is intended for use as a hospital cart, has a ramp that automatically ejects objects from the receptacle upon opening of the front door which swings upward and thereby poses similar concerns as the Koyama device. The Monroe device has a front door that is initially pulled downward until the door swings outward sufficiently so that the weight of the door and the bag causes gravity to force the door and bag to swing down to the floor to an open position. This device also poses safety concerns for persons with limited abilities who could be injured by the heavy metal door falling upon them.
There is also known the waste receptacle of U.S. Pat. No. 2,907,516 to Ma, as well as the receptacle of Follet et al. mentioned heretofore, which each disclose a waste receptacle with a foot pedal and an actuating mechanism for operating a hinged door. However, neither of these foot pedals and actuating mechanisms are employed in a manner other than for opening a hinged door, and as such do not obviate the need to engage in a lifting activity of a weighted refuse bag at some point during the carrying disposal of the bag.
Accordingly, what is needed but not found in the prior art is a mobile waste receptacle having a hinged, lightweight, front door that swings down such that it can be smoothly, stably, and easily operated, that raises upon actuation of a foot pedal to thereby obviate the need to bend over and lift a full refuse bag up and out of the receptacle and to also obviate the need to engage in any lifting activity after removal of the weighted refuse bag from the receptacle, and that provides a mechanism for opening and supporting a new refuse bag upon disposal of the previous bag.